Entry number seven in the list marks our first post-2005 pick - in April 2010, the modern incarnation of Doctor Who faced its greatest challenge yet, but this utterly enchanting 65-minute adventure made us believe in our hero, the Doctor, all over again.

Whether it's Patrick Troughton proving a more than worthy successor to William Hartnell, or the series itself proving the critics wrong and rising spectacularly from the ashes in 2005, triumph over adversity is a common theme in Doctor Who's history.

'The Eleventh Hour' is one of the most perfect examples - with Steven Moffat telling DS a few months back that he and his newly-assembled team found themselves in "a hellish situation" when it came time to start work on their first episode...

"That was ridiculous!" he laughed. "You're not meant to do Doctor Who like that - the execs left, the producer left, the stars left, everybody left! We felt like imposters... like we were making a home movie and calling it Doctor Who."

It's a legitimate concern - of course, Doctor Who thrives on change, but for the most part, there's been a familiar element positioned alongside the new to help comfort and reassure viewers.

Aside from perhaps 'Rose', no other episode has had to usher in so much as 'The Eleventh Hour' - a new Doctor and a new production team who not only had to prove their worth but also follow on from David Tennant's enormously popular Time Lord and the well-received RTD era.

Would Moffat's Who even feel like the show we love? As we now know, the answer was a resounding yes - Doctor Who has never felt more like Doctor Who than it did on April 30, 2010.

Few fans doubted Moffat's own credentials to take over as showrunner - he'd already wowed us with some of the best episodes of the modern era, in 'The Girl in the Fireplace', 'Blink' and his 2005 two-parter...

So it's little surprise that he delivers everything you want from Doctor Who - indeed, everything you want from a mainstream family drama series - here. Vivid characters, terrific plot twists, memorable imagery and big laughs - 'The Eleventh Hour' has it all.

But it's Matt Smith who's the real revelation - the fact that this writer had gone from getting teary-eyed about David Tennant's exit to cheering Matt's "Geronimo!" in a matter of seconds was a good start, but his star-making performance in his first full episode is something else.

No mid-twenties actor - certainly not one replacing a beloved leading man - has any right to be this confident, this assured, this brilliant, straight out of the gate. But Smith just is - from fish fingers and custard on, I'd simply accepted him as the Doctor. I don't think any other Doctor has had me convinced that fast.

Karen Gillan's engaging performance shows she's more than a match for her co-star and Arthur Darvill's Rory provides many of the funniest moments - later episodes would prove both actors to be equally adept at making us laugh and making us cry.

All in all, this was the beginning of an incredible era for Doctor Who - "We got away with it," Moffat told us. "And therefore, 'The Eleventh Hour' will probably always be my favourite thing I've done on television."

His pride is more than understandable - it remains one of our all-time favourites too.

Are you a fan of 'The Eleventh Hour'? Does it deserve a place in our Doctor Who top 10? Share your thoughts below!